Sverige – Ryssland: Modernismens arkitektur i tid och rum

Abstract

This work deals with style comparison between Swedish and Russian pre-war modernism in architecture, as well as architectural examples and problems of modernist heritage treatment in both countries. Method of study is qualitative and includes review of literature of modernism, both in Swedish and Russian sources, comparison of concrete buildings in both countries as well as interviews with professionals. Results are reported in form of discursive comparison where literary sources from both countries in different times (1930s until now) treated. Then, four buildings with similar functions (public buildings: “People´s house”, “Palace of Culture”, Cinema, Physical Culture house) are presented and compared. Finally, interview analysis with conservation professionals in both Sweden and Russia is presented. Conclusions are that the two discourses about modernism (Swedish and Russian) reflect different style development due different social-political conditions and also different mentality in the two countries at the time concerned. It also reflects a different interpretation of modernism in general by Swedish and Russian architectural historians over time. Comparative analysis of buildings and conversations with the professionals reflects both differences and similarities in treatment and perception of modernist heritage in Sweden and Russia – in both past and present.